Dan Quinn brought in a number of former Cowboys when he took over as the Commanders' head coach this offseason, but he also dug deeper into his past to add linebackers to the roster.
Quinn coached Bobby Wagner when he was the Seahawks' defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014, but has had to play against him since he left Seattle for the Falcons' head coaching job. He said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that one of the messages he gave the team in the meeting was “don't let this player ruin this game,” and thought about what Wagner's presence would mean as the team grows. said he was happy to have Wagner back with the team. New defenses will emerge in the coming months.
“That’s all he is. I love soccer” Quinn said. “He's a tackler. He's aggressive. He's tough. He's smart. He takes care of himself. That's what I'm hoping for, and I'm confident that will happen. But he's a multiplier. Wags, because this is the standard, this is how I operate, this is the process that I go through. If you're a young linebacker with somebody, this is what you're going to be around. He's the type of linebacker that you want to have in… He confirms the standard of how we operate. I thought that was really important, so I'm very enthusiastic about bringing him here.”
Setting standards is one thing. Finding players who can live up to that many times over Wagner's career is another matter, and the managers will need some during Quinn's tenure to bring success back to Washington.
